The rough and tumble life of an infantryman has taken its toll on Sgt. Jorge Sanchez.

After two surgeries to his back and more than two years spent in the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Bliss, he knows his military career is coming to an end.

"It's not something that's easy to let go, because the military is not a job, it's a way of life," Sanchez said.

But before he leaves the service, he'll have the chance to begin a new career in civil service at White Sands Missile Range. He hopes to land a position in range control operations at White Sands. For Sanchez, a husband and father of two young children, the peace of mind this opportunity has given him is invaluable.

"I'm a man with a family, and I'll likely be retired here in the coming months, so it's important to me to be able to fall back on a secure position, doing something I love," he said.

For the past two years, soldiers assigned to the Warrior Transition Battalion have had the opportunity to participate in internships at White Sands Missile Range that can lead to full-time jobs once they're out of the service. Soldiers are eligible for nearly any job opening, from information technology to skilled labor. While some have found jobs already matching their skill sets and experience, others have had the opportunity to learn new trades and take their civilian careers in new directions.

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Every soldier who is physically able is required to work in some capacity on post, whether recovering from injuries suffered on the battlefield or from serious medical conditions requiring long-term care. Several of them volunteer for Operation Santa Claus or at the museum.

"If you stay stagnant, it sucks the life out of you; you definitely can't stop moving," Sanchez said. "Soldiers are definitely trained to keep moving. If you keep us standing still long enough, we start to lose our minds; we start to lose our focus and purpose."

Sgt. Terry Davis, a member of the Texas National Guard, was drawn to the co-op program to take advantage of the on-the-job training and to help other soldiers in the Warrior Transition Battalion get into the program by working in the equal employment opportunity office, which matches soldiers with job openings at the installation.

"It's a program I knew I wanted to take advantage of," he said. "I like to move around, I like to talk to people, I'm a very personable person, and me coming from the (Warrior Transition Battalion), it would be easier to interact with guys from the (Warrior Transition Battalion)."

White Sands was already familiar territory for Spc. Joy Pierce, who was stationed at the range before she was deployed to Afghanistan. Her deployment was cut short when a painful skin condition forced her to report to the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Bliss. Her doctors have yet to find a medication that keeps the illness and the hives it causes under control.

Pierce, 20, said that the Army is the only thing she's known and that it will be difficult for her to leave it behind.

"This is what I had planned for my life," she said. "I love the Army, and I don't want to get out."

As an automated logistics specialist, she has fit right in working in a similar capacity through the co-op program and paving the way for a civilian career. Pierce said she appreciated the fact that soldiers facing medical discharge are given the chance to start preparing for life after service.

"The program is wonderful," she said. "I'm really glad they have it because some people don't get that chance."